For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, responsible for roughly 70% of all Steam releases projected for 2025. While Godot has enjoyed notable growth and some studios cling to proprietary solutions—Capcom’s RE Engine being a prime example—the market has largely been sealed by the two giants.
Yet three seasoned veterans, Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient, have founded Immens with the belief that there is still room for a fresh, more adaptable engine. Their résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry, spanning Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple, and they now aim to challenge the status quo. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee explained that the timing feels right for a new platform that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.
“With AI‑assisted programming, you can start building from the ground up again,” he said. “Guided by intelligent tools, you can achieve full‑featured functionality much faster than before.” Valient, Immens’s chief technology officer, clarified that the AI they employ is not the “prompt‑to‑art” variety that dominates headlines. Instead, their AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
“AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets,” he noted. “If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even a solo developer can add a custom particle system or a bespoke gameplay mechanic without being limited to simple scripting.” This approach aims to let creators extend the engine quickly, using AI as a productivity catalyst rather than a magic wand. The motivation behind Immens is rooted in the current challenges facing game developers. Brussee described the market as “rough,” with development costs spiraling upward and success becoming increasingly elusive.
“We need new ways of working that lower budgets, shrink team sizes, and accelerate timelines,” he argued. “Otherwise studios risk their livelihoods on ever‑larger financial bets.” De Jong, the chief product officer, observed that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While this has provided a solid foundation, he believes the industry now needs genuine innovation.
“Continuing to do exactly what we’ve always done won’t solve the emerging problems,” he said. “We need a different paradigm—one that embraces flexibility rather than imposing a monolithic workflow.” Current engines often force developers to conform to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines.
De Jong envisions an engine that bends to the user’s needs, allowing interchangeable modules, custom tools, and personalized interfaces. “Imagine being able to craft a toolset that matches your exact workflow, with the shortcuts, features, and UI you prefer,” he explained.
“That level of customization can dramatically improve productivity.” Valient also warned that AI, while powerful, can quickly go off‑track if left unchecked. Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: developers can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and ensure repeatable results.
This oversight enables rapid prototyping—such as generating five distinct characters with specific traits in the time it once took weeks—while still allowing the creator to discard the temporary tools once the job is done. Flexibility is baked into Immens’s core. The framework does not dictate a single workflow or a fixed amount of AI involvement. Users decide how much automation they want and where it should be applied, provided the AI can interpret the context correctly.
Moreover, Immens adopts open standards for asset interchange, meaning text‑based files can be read and manipulated by any compatible software. “If you’re using Blender, Maya, or any generative tool, you can plug it straight into the engine because everything speaks the same language,” Brussee said.
This openness contrasts with many proprietary engines that act as closed ecosystems. The broader conversation around AI in game development is polarized.
Some commentators on platforms like LinkedIn hype the notion of “click‑to‑game” engines that could produce GTA‑scale experiences from a single prompt. Immens’s team acknowledges that such extremes are speculative; they view AI as a powerful tool rather than a replacement for human creativity. “AI makes everyone better, not a substitute for talent,” Valient asserted.
“It’s a disruptive technology, but like any tool, it can be used responsibly or misused.” Economic concerns also surface, with critics labeling AI‑focused startups as part of a speculative bubble. Valient likened the situation to the dot‑com era: the internet didn’t disappear when the bubble burst, and many companies fell away, but the valuable ones survived and thrived.
“We’re focused on building a solid engine first. AI simply accelerates our development and lets us dream bigger,” he said.
Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but Immens plans to stay grounded by delivering a functional product. Funding details are still under wraps. The founders have secured “first commitments” but have not disclosed amounts, describing the target as “reasonable.” Brussee cautioned against excessive capital, noting that too much money can breed complacency. “Startups need to stay scrappy,” he laughed.
The team remains tiny—just the three founders plus a handful of helpers—by design, believing that a lean crew can make decisive architectural choices without the overhead of a massive staff. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow. The goal is to release this demo within the month, a timeline that has already outpaced their original end‑of‑year estimate. “We’re moving twice as fast as we thought we would,” Brussee reported, underscoring the engine’s rapid iteration capability.
Regarding the business model, Immens admires Epic’s “we succeed when you succeed” philosophy but admits it’s too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, Brussee hopes the engine will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more artistic risk‑taking and innovation. “We love games and want to see more daring, expressive experiences,” he concluded. “If our technology can help bring those visions to life, that would be amazing."